Ascending
by IfIQuitNowTheyWin
Summary: One can take them away from the FBI, but the weird and magical are still following Mulder and Scully around. This time, all the way to San Francisco , and there may be a good reason...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back. Well, you guys could give them to me if you really wanted to. It _is_ my birthday at the end of the week.

**Author Notes:** Well, I needed a break both from The Path of Power, my Harry Potter fanfic, and Magic Rising, the novel I'm working on. I was working on some art and was watching re-runs of Charmed when an episode sort of spoke to me. I think it's early in season 5, and a young boy becomes an Elder. Leo says by way of explanation that Elders are chosen and like kings they can be of any age, or something of the sorts. My first thought after that was: well, I know two characters who deserve it a lot more.

And so, here we are. The story is mostly complete. I've toyed with posting it all in one go. Then I thought, nnaaaahh… I'll just give you guys short chapters. As usual, it's not worth suing me for writing fanfiction because I don't make enough money with my actual writing for it to be worth it for anyone. If I ever become as rich as the original creators of these TV shows, well then…

Also, keep in mind I'm a Brit-speaker. Sorry if I don't get the right American terms in there. I'll welcome anyone willing to educate me on that matter.

* * *

The sea breeze played in the long strands of russet hair, and Fox Mulder couldn't help gathering his partner's hair in his right hand and twisting it around his fingers, all the while keeping his left arm wrapped around her waist. He knew very well that she had let her hair grown even longer because he had asked. Dana Scully was a pragmatic woman, and really long hair in her profession was more of a hindrance than anything. You always had to make sure it was securely out of the way, and wear those silly caps.

The woman in his arm sighed softly and leaned back in his embrace, her own arms crossed over his left and holding it in place. Not that he would have let go for all the wealth in the world. In his opinion, he already was the richest man in the universe because Scully loved him.

"I can feel you thinking."

Mulder huffed a laugh and nuzzled Scully's neck. Her soft giggle reminded him once more why he was suffering through the growth of a few days-worth of beard. He preferred himself clean-shaved, but knew he had a tendency to let himself go when focused on a project. Sometimes for weeks at a time when he worked on a book. She enjoyed the scratchiness, although she would never admit it.

"I'm wondering if I can convince you to get back to the hotel with me?" Mulder finally said.

"I need convincing for that?"

"You might when I tell you precisely what I have in mind."

"I know exactly what you have in mind, Mulder," Scully replied as she pressed herself even closer to his body if it was possible.

The two stood in silence for a few moments, watching boats sailing past. This little holiday in San Francisco had been his idea. Their last break had been nearly a year ago, after all the troubles the FBI had put them through after that missing person case. Mulder had never been so happy to see Skinner hovering above him.

In the wake of that case, Mulder had quietly booked a holiday some place warm and sunny, called the hospital to sort out Scully's leave, packed their suitcases, unexpectedly picked the woman of his life from work, and drove her straight to the airport before she could start arguing against his plan. He'd taken her away from the darkness and hidden them for a little while. And she'd let him know how grateful she'd been.

And so this year, he'd decided to do the same again. He'd chosen San Francisco because Scully had spent a long while in the area in her childhood. The Captain had been stationed in San Diego. That city had been out of the question though: last they knew, Bill Scully Jr. was still stationed there and he was far from their greatest fan. The last conversations with the rest of the Scully family all those years ago had not been joyful ones after Scully had to give up Will. Not to mentioned that Emily had been found and lost in San Diego.

Los Angeles had been a possibility. They'd had a great time at that movie premiere. But in the end, he'd decided to go for the slightly quieter San Francisco. And it seemed neither of them was regretting his choice for now.

"Have you planned anything for us to do this afternoon?" Scully asked.

Mulder smirked and pulled lightly on his partner's hair, turning her head so he could look at her gorgeous azure eyes. And so she could see his leer. Her laugh was all the recompense he needed.

"Not what I meant, G-man. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Mulder laughed along with her.

"Well, I've managed to feed us at least."

Scully nodded even as she turned into his embrace. She lifted her head to peck at his lips.

"You did."

They had stopped at the SeaGlass Restaurant and shared tacos. They now stood just outside the restaurant, just gazing at the ocean in front of them. Well, he was. Scully now seemed quite happy to just look at him.

"What?" Mulder asked.

"Nothing."

But Scully's hundred watt grin told him she had something in mind. She stepped back and linked their hands together before pulling him gently away from the rail they had been standing at. He followed her beguiling smile without a word and they started to walk.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No, they're not mine. Yes, you can give them to me for my birthday. If you're looking for the disclaimer, go to chapter 1.

Also, I should point out that my somewhat sketchy knowledge of San Francisco comes from watching TV shows supposedly based in that city, and a mix of Google Maps and Google Earth. I live in the UK and I've never set foot on American soil. So any mistakes are my own but I shall claim creative license.

This one is very short, but it sets the whole story. And I'm posting the next chapter straight away to make up for it.

* * *

Phoebe Halliwell walked swiftly along the street. The sun shone brightly in the skies of San Francisco but she could not help but think it shouldn't be. The sisters had thought their battles over. They'd thought wrong. And now Phoebe was running for her life and that of her daughter.

It was a sad day for the world when demons started to work together. The series of attacks on Halliwell Manor had set the whole family on edge. None of the Charmed Ones could understand why the demons were targeting the Manor. The Nexus had long since been destroyed. Eventually, Piper and Leo decided they were testing for weaknesses in the Power of Three. With multiple members of the family able to Orb or Beam at will, the fact that the three sisters lived apart from each other was not really a consideration anymore. The new generation of Halliwell was not even a true weak point, because all the children had their own powers to protect themselves. But they were still children…

Phoebe hoisted her daughter higher on her hip. The Charmed witch looked around as she tried to regulate her breathing while walking down the street as fast as she possibly could. The Embarcadero was full of milling tourists, and Phoebe was both happy and nervous because of it. Both sides of the magical conflict knew better than to expose magic to mortals. The few times it had happened, it hadn't really worked out for anyone. But there were still a few loose cannons on either side, who didn't really care about it as long as they got what they wanted.

P.J. was holding tightly to her mother and Phoebe was reluctant to do anything more than wrap her arms around her daughter. The witch walked past Pier 19 and carried on down the street.

_Coop? Paige!? Where are you guys?_

Phoebe continued her silent mantra as she continued her flight. As she approached Pier 17, she stopped for a minute to readjust the weight of her daughter in her arms. A chill ran down her spine and Phoebe turned on the spot, trying to identify the source of her unease. But before she could do more than that, she stumbled as a man ran into her, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

"There you are, witch."

The quiet words from the man forced Phoebe's eyes up to meet his gaze. The red gleam in the dark brown orb was enough to let the Charmed witch know she had been found.

"I'll see you in Hell."

The demon – for Phoebe knew that's just who this was – made a yanking movement and pushed past her, continuing down the street at a very rapid pace. Even as she made to follow, Phoebe gasped at the sudden burning sensation in her side. She felt her arms tremble as she shifted P.J. down her side until her daughter's feet touched the floor.

"Mummy?"

Phoebe brought her shaking right hand to her side. She was both surprised to feel the wet warmth spreading down her blouse, and not so. Demons had used knives on the Charmed Ones before. Just never in broad daylight, in the middle of a busy street. Phoebe stumbled to her knees.

"Mummy!"

P.J.'s scream seemed to come from far away._ That sounds so cliché_, Phoebe thought even as darkness threatened.

"Go to your Daddy, Ladybug."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:** I wish to say right now that the total sum of my medical knowledge comes from watching a combination of The X-Files, House, NCIS, and the CSI's series. Oh, and Google of course. I hope I did a decent enough job here, but any mistakes are my own. If you're looking for the disclaimer, go to chapter 1.

* * *

"Mummy!"

Both Mulder and Scully startled at the panicky scream. Instincts long dormant but never forgotten had them turning in the direction of the sound and their hands dropping to the concealed weapons at their waist. They saw a young woman on her knees besides a toddler. The toddler was the one who had attracted their attention. But it's the man running away from the scene that kept Mulder's.

"Hey!"

Mulder's shout slowed the man down as he turned to face them for a split moment, and the sun glinted on the blade in his hand. The man's eyes visibly widened as he spotted them, and he turned then ran flat out down the street. Both former FBI agents started forward: Mulder to give chase, Scully to see to the woman. Scully had not taken two steps forward when she noticed the blood rapidly flowing down the woman's side.

"Mulder!"

She never saw it, but she knew her partner had stopped dead in his tracks at her call. Scully didn't turn to check however, and swiftly ran to the woman's side. Even as the woman pressed a hand to her side, she slid sideways onto the sidewalk. Several passerby closer than Scully had stopped to help.

"Let me past, I'm a medical doctor."

Those words had always worked when she had to get to her partner's side all those times he'd gotten hurt in one of their cases. She was glad to see they hadn't lost their powers. The small but growing gathering of people parted in front of her and Scully near enough skidded to a halt in front of the woman now collapsed on the ground.

"Right people, let's move back and give them room to breathe. You, go to the restaurant, tell them what happened, and get them to bring us their first aid kit, ice, and clean towels. You two big guys, go on either sides of the street and show whatever ambulance crew the way back here."

Mulder's voice settled in the back of Scully's mind even as she started to assess the woman in front of her. She was still conscious.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, I need to know your name."

Scully moved the woman's hand away from her side and quickly pressed her own left hand to the wound in an attempt to slow the blood flow. A whimper brought both Scully and the woman's attention to the toddler still standing beside them.

"P… P… Prue… "

Scully pressed harder against the woman's side, eliciting a gasp from her, and moved to block the little girl's view.

"Hi there, Sweetie! Are you Prue?"

The girl nodded jerkily, her large brown eyes filled with tears.

"Can you tell me your Mummy's name?"

"Mummy…"

Scully dropped her head slightly with a quick sigh. She wouldn't get anything from the little one. Mulder came up behind the girl, his phone to his ear, along with two women. He gently directed the girl back and away from her mother. The two women took her a few steps away and sat her down, far enough the girl couldn't see the blood but close enough that she could still her mother.

"Yes, we have a Caucasian woman, early to mid-thirties, with penetrative abdominal trauma. We have a doctor on the scene but your ambulance had better be here quick. We're by Pier 17. I have two male civilians ready to escort the paramedics through the crowd on either side of the scene."

As Mulder spoke, Scully started her exam as gently as she could. The welling of blood between her fingers discouraged Scully from moving her left hand longer than to make a very quick assessment. She then pressed two fingers to the woman's neck and started counting.

"Can you tell me your name, ma'am?"

"Phoebe…" came the whispered reply.

"Phoebe. Phoebe, you need to tell me where it hurts."

"Side… Back…"

The woman gasped and groaned, and Scully tried to keep her still as she checked her eyes.

"Stab wound to the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, severe blood loss, pulse elevated, dilated pupils, conscious and responsive, probable damage to the liver and going into shock…"

Mulder relayed Scully's words as she spoke. He turned as shouts came from the pier and waved the crowd aside as help came from the SeaGlass restaurant in the form of a waiter carrying the first aid kit.

"ETA two and a half minutes," he said to Scully and the red-haired woman nodded acknowledgment.

Mulder grabbed the supplies from the waiter and crouched opposite Scully, the other man kneeling next to him.

"I know first aid," the man said, slightly out of breath.

"It's fine, she's a doctor," Mulder said as he turned his head to grip his cell between his ear and his shoulder.

He folded a clean towel, handing it to his partner. Scully grabbed it and used it to press against the wound. The woman moaned and coughed, a dry, hacking sound that had Scully frowning. She leaned forward and shook her head as she saw blood on the woman's lips and the skin around them slowly starting to turn blue. She leaned across to the first aid kit and snatched a stethoscope sticking out from the bag.

"Mulder, find me a syringe. Fast."

The former FBI agent did just that, quickly fishing a syringe and a needle in sterile packs from the bag by his side as his partner listened to the woman's chest.

"Tell them she has a collapsed lung and tension pneumothorax."

Mulder relayed the message to the paramedic on the phone, put on a pair of latex gloves he found in the kit then prepared another pair for Scully. He spared a look behind him, to the little girl who was softly crying for her mother. As he felt Scully tugged on one glove, he returned her attention to her and held the glove open so she could maneuver her right hand in. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Ambulance's still one minute away."

"I don't think we have that long, Mulder."

Scully pointed out the blue skin spreading around Phoebe's mouth with a small nod of her head. She took a slow breath and snatched the remaining glove from her partner, putting it on. Mulder turned to the waiter.

"Make sure the kid doesn't see this."

The man nodded and shuffled away. Mulder moved slightly and put his left hand over Scully's, taking over the towel holding duty. Scully's smile was barely there, but it was there. Phoebe moaned again, her eyes fluttered shut, and Scully prepped the syringe quickly.

"Phoebe? Phoebe, you need to stay with us. Can you hear me?"

But the woman gave no acknowledgment and Scully took the cap off the needle. She put the stethoscope back on and listened to Phoebe's chest again. The nearing sirens didn't make for an easy job, but she finally heard what she was looking for. She spared a glance at her partner's, and his ever-calm hazel gaze settled her mind as it always did.

"I'm doing this."

Mulder nodded and shifted, his left hand tightening on Phoebe's side while his right closed on the younger woman's shoulder to try and prevent any movement. Scully took a breath and quickly stabbed Phoebe in the chest with the syringe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Piper Halliwell was not having a good day. Her car had broken down first thing this morning, forcing her to borrow Paige's. Wyatt and Chris had decided that today was as good a day as any to behave like little monsters at their play group, forcing Leo to drive back home to deal with them because Piper had to deal with a broken water main at Halliwell's.

And to top it all off, now demons were attacking. They had managed to knock out Leo before they'd even realized what was happening. Wyatt was now busy keeping his dad, brother, and sister safe while Piper took on the spawns of hell.

"You guys really should have learned better by now," Piper exclaimed as she blew up yet another low-level demon. "Paige! A little help here!"

Piper waved her hands again, and another demon fell to her combustion power. Five down, three to go, she thought. But even as she turned to face then, an energy ball clipped her shoulder, sending her flying back against a wall. Piper scrambled to get back to her feet. But the demon's next attack was stopped by a bright shimmering shield.

"That's my boy," Piper smiled as she got back to her feet.

Three more waves of her hands produced three vanquished demons, and Piper quickly made her way to her fallen husband.

"Paige! Coop! Anyone!" Piper shouted in frustration.

With a shake of her head, the Charmed witch approached her son's Orb Shield.

"Good job, Wyatt."

With a little smile, the six-year-old dropped his shield.

"Mind healing your dad for us, sweetie."

Wyatt happily clambered to his father's side and laid his hands on his head. At the same moment, Paige Orbed into the room, along with her twin girls and her adopted son.

"Sorry. We were just attacked by demons."

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you," Piper said as she indicated the broken furniture all around them.

Paige winced as she noted her sister's bleeding arm and quickly went to heal her.

"Know what this was all about?" Piper asked through clenched teeth.

Paige shook her head as she finished using her powers. "We were attacked just like that too. Gosh I hope Phoebe's okay."

"Coop!" Piper shouted again, rather angrily.

A groan sounded as Leo regained consciousness and the two adult witches went to him.

"What happened?"

"Demon attack," Piper snarked to her husband. "What else? Paige, go check on Phoebe. Leave your little ones here. They'll be safe with us for now."

Paige nodded and Orbed away. She stumbled slightly as she landed in the shade of a few trees in what appeared to be a deserted pedestrian street. Looking around, she saw no Phoebe and immediately got worried. As she near enough ran out of the side street, she realized she was in North Beach and that something was evidently happening across the street.

And suddenly, Paige had a very bad feeling about the events so far. It wasn't like the demons to be so organized. They had attacked Piper and her children in force, forcing arguably the most powerful members of the Charmed extended family into a standstill. Paige herself had been attacked by three demons. She'd been so focused on protecting her young children that she hadn't heard her sister's call until after the fact. And now, her usually very accurate Orbing power took her to a deserted street instead of to Phoebe while Coop the Cupid didn't answer their calls.

"What is going on?" she muttered to herself as she crossed the car park in the direction of the somewhat large crowd gathered on the opposite side of the street.

Paige felt the breath leave her lungs when she saw baby P. J. with two strange women.

"Little Phoebe?"

The girl looked up, saw her aunt, and started crying loudly. She ran to her as fast as her little legs could carry her. At the same time, an ambulance came screeching round the corner followed moments later by two police cars. Paige swallowed hard, suddenly scared to find out what had drawn the crowd.

"Excuse me, do you know this little girl?"

Paige turned to see one of the women who had been sitting with P. J. had approached her.

"She's my niece," Paige murmured as she petted P. J.'s hair.

The woman grimaced as her eyes darted to the side, in direction of the crowd.

"I think there's been an accident."

Paige nodded but knew better. It had been no accident. And she swore there and then to find the demon who had hurt her sister and make him pay. And the same went for whoever had ordered and helped organize the attacks. Swallowing hard, Paige gathered P. J. in her arms and arranged the little girl so she faced away from whatever Paige was about to see. And when the two paramedics came charging past, she followed in their wake.

The sight of Phoebe, pale and seemingly helpless, and lying in a pool of her own blood had Paige almost gasping for breath. A red-haired woman was kneeling by her sister's side, checking her pulse and talking with the paramedics as they set up a gurney next to Phoebe and put an oxygen mask on her. By the woman's side stood a tall, lanky man in jeans. Both of them had blood on their hands.

"You need to get her to hospital as fast as possible. Her lung collapsed and I've had to perform an emergency decompression. I'm rather certain her liver was hit in the attack. She lost consciousness for twenty-thirty seconds but she seems rather responsive, all things considered."

The paramedics nodded as they loaded Phoebe unto their gurney.

"You know her name?"

"Only her first name: Phoebe."

Paige chose that moment to push through the crowd.

"Hey! That's my sister!"

The paramedics and the two strangers turned to look at her.

"My name's Paige Matthews. Her name's Phoebe Halliwell."

The paramedics exchanged a look then motioned for her to follow just as a cop arrived.

"We're taking Miss Halliwell to San Francisco General," the paramedic said to the cop. "Miss Matthews here needs a lift, the little one shouldn't be in with us. And those two provided first aid. Probably saved the lady's life."

At that, Paige turned to watch the two mortals who had somehow managed to save a witch. And she vowed she'd find them again. But for now, she followed the police officer to his car – silently shouting at the Elders to get Coop to Piper and everyone to the hospital as quick as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Dana Scully stood under the warm spray of the shower, head bowed and immobile. She simply could not get the image of Phoebe Halliwell, lying bloody on the pavement with her young daughter beside her, out of her head. God knows she'd tried. She'd spent the whole night trying. And even now, the following morning, the image was still imprinted behind her eyelids.

Along with Mulder, she'd given a statement to the police about the series of events they had witnessed. The young officer had seemed very grateful for the fact that they were ex-law enforcement themselves. Not that it'd surprised Scully that much. She'd had to deal with her fair share of unhelpful, hysteric witnesses during her time with the FBI. To have a cop or even a military as a witness was generally a breath of fresh air. They all were trained to deal with stressful situations while retaining as much of their powers of observation as possible.

"How you doing?"

Scully sighed and turned her head slightly to see Mulder standing there, naked as the day he was born.

"I think I'm not cut out for this anymore."

Mulder scoffed and slowly entered the shower, enveloping Scully into his comforting embrace.

"Nnaaahh… You can still do it. You _did_ do it. You're just not used to it anymore."

Scully might still be a doctor, but she treated terminally-ill children nowadays. Not violent trauma patients. Mulder reached for her hands and rubbed them between his owns.

"Officer Trent called."

"Thought I'd heard the phone. What's the news?"

"Halliwell is expected to make a full recovery. She's already out of ICU, although they're going to keep her under observations for the next few days. The doctors think your quick actions saved her life."

Scully nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on their interlocked fingers.

"And the UNSUB?"

"Police haven't found him yet. Trent asked if we could stick around and alluded that he'll try to keep us in the loop."

"We're not supposed to leave for another week and a half anyway," Scully said.

"True. They'd also like if we could pop by this morning."

Silence settled in the shower cubicle. It was comfortable, for both of them. They had never really needed words to understand each other. Not while they were FBI partners. And certainly not now that they'd admitted to being soul mates.

"Want to pop by the hospital?" Mulder asked. "Trent did say Halliwell was conscious."

Scully sighed and nodded again. "I think I'd like that. But let's see what the locals need first."

The two of them finished getting ready and chose to take a cab to the local police station. The two of them made their way inside, Mulder guiding Scully with a hand at the small of her back as per usual. Officer Trent saw them immediately and guided them through the station.

"Ever been to San Francisco on business before?"

"Once," Mulder said. "A case dealing with organ trafficking. A Lieutenant Neary was in charge, if I remember well."

Scully threw a side glance at her partner, knowing damn well that with his eidetic memory, there was no _'if I remember well'_ involved.

"Ah, well it's Captain Neary nowadays," Trent said with a smile as he opened a door.

Scully stepped inside what she guessed was the staff room.

"Didn't want to put you guys in interrogation, not after the help you've given. Now, do you think we could go through yesterday again?"

Scully nodded as Mulder sighed, and Trent offered them an apologetic smile that both ex-Agents waved aside.

"You're just doing your job, Officer Trent," Scully said with a shrug of a shoulder. "As I said, I can't really help with our UNSUB as my medical training kicked in as soon as I saw Miss Halliwell on the ground. What I saw of the man was average built, with thick black hair, and what appeared to be a bloody knife in his hand."

"I tried to give chase but chose to stay back when Scully called out to me," Mulder said in turn. "I can tell you the guy must have been just shy of six feet. He wore black jeans, a black T-shirt, and black leather boots. No jacket. I didn't see him drop the knife but then again I didn't pursue him for more than five seconds."

"Anything else that you think might be helpful?"

Sadly, both Mulder and Scully shook their heads and Trent sighed deeply.

"We'll do what we can but I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those purely random attacks. We've had more and more over the past few years."

The two ex-FBI exchanged a look, but Mulder simply shrugged in the end.

"Know if we'd be welcome at the hospital?"

"Welcome? I think the family is expecting you. Or didn't you get Miss Matthews's message?"

Mulder shook his head and Trent sighed again.

"Miss Matthews has asked that we tell you that you both are welcome at Miss Halliwell's bedside."

"Well that's a nice change," Mulder commented and Scully neatly rolled her eyes at his quip.

With nothing else to do, the two of them made their way to San Francisco General. The trip was made in relative silence and Scully subtly used her status – and her apparent status as a heroine with the staff right now – to once more charm the hospital staff into telling her what she wanted to know.

"Well, Doctor Scully," a Doctor Ryan said as he walked them through the ward, "Miss Halliwell was basically in and out of the operating room very quickly. She's a healthy young woman, and we had no problem with the surgery. She probably could go back home right now, but as you know we'll be keeping her for a few days."

The good doctor excused himself after showing them to the door of the person they were looking to see. Mulder knocked softly on the door and someone called for them to come in. Mulder opened the door and let Scully walk in first. The young woman on the bed smiled, looking much better than when they had seen her yesterday. She extended a hand toward them.

"I can't believe I still don't know your names."

Scully smiled softly as she stepped forward.

"I'm Dana Scully and this is Fox Mulder."

But as their hands touched, Phoebe Halliwell gasped and her eyes closed for the briefest of moment.

"Are you all right, Miss?" Scully immediately asked, her eyes flying to the IV in her arm and the small tube protubing from under the woman's arm in turn, expertly checking for problems.

The Halliwell sisters had also jumped and Mulder was already moving to go find a nurse when Phoebe spoke again.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," the brown-eyed woman assured them with a bit of a tight smile. "I just forgot how sore I am for a moment."

Scully noticed the three sisters exchanging side looks and looked back at Mulder to confirm he had seen it too. The small smile he sported told her he knew a bit more than he'd let on.

_What aren't you telling me, Sherlock?_ The Scully eyebrow asked.

_Never you mind yet, Watson_, the leery Mulder grin answered.

Halliwell then squeezed Scully's hand, bringing the older woman's attention back to her.

"Please, call me Phoebe. These are my sisters. You've met Paige yesterday. And this is Piper."

The sisters nodded in turn and Scully and Mulder both returned the gestures.

"I'd like to thank you for saving my little sister," Piper said quietly.

"Just doing my job," Scully replied just as softly.

"Are you in town for very long?" Phoebe asked with a cheer that strangely sounded only half-forced to Scully's ears.

Not knowing what her partner was hiding, Scully let him field that one with another of her Scully Look.

"Another week and a half. We're on holidays. But we are supposed to head back to Virginia after that."

Mulder's answer had Piper Halliwell suddenly rooting through her bag. She fished out of it a small card and a pen.

"I insist you come by and have dinner with us. I own a small restaurant. It's still newish, so you shouldn't have to call ahead for a reservation. On the house, of course. I'm writing my private phone number on there as well, just in case."

Mulder accepted the card and slipped it in his jeans back pocket with a practiced, nonchalant move and a smile. But Scully knew that he had already memorized the name of the restaurant and the address with his casual glance.

"He'll eat you out of business," Scully warned with a smile of her own. "But I think we'll leave you to rest for now."

The red head turned back the woman in the bed when she felt another squeeze on her hand.

"Thank you. Again. And please take care of yourselves."

Scully nodded to the younger woman and the two partners took their leaves, ready to do a little investigative work of their own.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** The X-Files are the brain child of Chris Carter, while Charmed was made up by Constance M. Burge. May they be blessed for continuing good health and inspiration for that. I'm borrowing the characters for a little while but I'll give them back. Eventually...

* * *

"Innocents?" Paige asked as soon as the older couple had left.

Phoebe nodded.

"I saw them being attacked by the same demon who attacked me."

"You sure it was the same guy?" Piper asked.

"Oh yeah," Phoebe nodded as she shivered.

Even as she said that, a beam of light shone in the hospital room and Coop appeared in its midst. He quickly stepped forward to give his wife a kiss, his eyes roving over her form, noting her slight paleness and the medical tubes.

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"I got stuck fighting off a demon of my own. The Elders actually sent a Whitelighter to help me out. And when we got back, there was no way to Beam to you guys. So I stayed up to learn more until the coast was clear.

The words were meant for all three sisters, but Coop kept his eyes on his wife. Phoebe just smiled and gave her husband a reassuring peck on the lips.

"And what did the Elders have to say for themselves?" Piper spoke again.

"They think you're right, Piper," Coop said as he fussed with his wife's bed covers, making sure she was snugly tucked in. "Somehow, someone in the Underworld has heard about Elder Cassandra passing on her powers. Whether or not some people want to admit it, Cassandra is easily the most powerful of all the Elders. When everything went down with the Titans, she was the only one beside Leo who could protect the others."

"So where was she all those years?" Paige interrupted.

"Contrary to most Elders of her… generation, Cassandra firmly believes that it is not the Elders' job to manipulate Fate to ensure that Good triumphs over Evil. Only to guide the Champions of Good in their most difficult hours of need. Although she has been known to interfere as well, as she as more than once gone to a witch whose Whitelighter was unavailable. Because of this, her detractors are often saying that she is nothing more than a glorified Whitelighter."

"And is she?" Phoebe asked.

"Elder Cassandra never was a Whitelighter. She ascended the same way your friend Kevin did all those years ago: she was chosen. But we now have another problem."

"We know about the two who save Phoebe being Innocents," Piper said.

"Yes, but do you know _who_ they are?" Coop interjected.

The Cupid looked at each of the Charmed Ones in turn, and sighed. As he prepared to explain, a voice sounded in the air.

"I think I should explain this part," and bright orbs of light swirled in the air to coalesce into the form of an elderly woman.

"I am Elder Cassandra."

Piper fairly gaped at the woman in question. She had long, salt-and-pepper hair falling down her back in loose waves, and her lightly tanned skinned made her look young, even with the obvious crow's feet around her eyes. Instead of the traditional cream-and-white, hooded robes, Cassandra wore a pair of faded light-grey jeans with a white rolled-neck jumper, and a pair of low-heeled, grey leather boots.

"You sure you're an Elder?" Paige asked, speaking her sister's very thoughts.

And Cassandra only smiled.

"To get back to the matter at hand, just as the Charmed Ones are Champions of Good in the magical realms, former FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully are Champions of Good in the mortal realm."

"FBI Special Agents?" Paige echoed, memories of a few other federal agents who knew about magic running through the Charmed Ones' heads.

Cassandra nodded and continued. "But where the Homeland Security team members ultimately worked for shadowy forces themselves, Mulder and Scully were a special unit at the FBI, dealing with the paranormal and other cases that no one else would touch, and wholly focused on bringing about justice for the victims – whether the guilty parties were mortals, demons, mutants, or government officials.

"Just like you, they have fought to save our world, one Innocent at a time and often against overwhelming odds. And just like you, they succeeded only to get virtually no recognition and at great personal costs for the both of them. You would need to ask them for the details.

"More importantly, both sides soon realized that those two were fighting a war we all needed to win but we could not take part in. We couldn't – ever – risk exposing magic to the people they fought against. You saw the results of what that knowledge nearly did when you dealt with Homeland Security. And those were not the most dangerous of the men Mulder and Scully fought. And so, the Heavens and the Underworld – very early in those two's careers – agreed that Mulder and Scully were not to be touched. Ever. No manipulation of memories. No hunting down because they happen to mess up best-laid plans. They were decreed immune from the Cleaners. They hold the keys to knowledge and secrets that have saved the world, and may well save it again. We cannot afford for them to forget."

Silence reigned in the hospital room.

"But they're going to be attacked…" Phoebe murmured.

"Not everyone always follows orders," Cassandra said. "I assume this is one of these cases."

"And how do you know all this?" Piper asked as she ran a hand through her hair, already fighting the headache she could feel building behind her eyes.

"My focus has always shifted between the magical and the mortal Champions of Good, depending on the level of threat. Over the past… Heavens, I think it started nearly a century ago. Anyway, the threat a group of mortal men posed to the survival of our world was worse than the Source himself. Our joint sighs of relief must have been felt across the all the planes when those men made the foolish mistake of partnering Mulder and Scully together. Any Seer could have told those men what was destined to happen from that moment on. I managed to broker the safety of the two Agents with the Source, although it wasn't really difficult. They might have been a thorn in his side at times, but I think he was already focused on you charming witches. And then I put out my own directive across our side. The others never bothered with the mortals, and allowed my 'fancy'. I think they soon became eternally grateful."

Cassandra chuckled to herself, obviously reminiscing.

"So what do we do?" Paige asked.

"You protect them," Cassandra said simply. "And do not make the mistake of underestimating them. I have told you who they are because you can be certain that Mulder already knows about you. Or he has a good idea at the very least. And Scully will know in short order. They keep no secret from each other."

The Charmed Ones exchanged more looks, uneasy with more mortals knowing their secret.

"I wouldn't worry about them saying anything to anyone," Cassandra commented as she brushed a nonexistent piece of lint off her cuff. "I shall see you in four days, at the start of the Equinox."

Cassandra Orbed out of the hospital, leaving the Charmed Ones and Coop with even more to worry about.

"Can we trust them?" Piper mused almost to herself.

"I think," Coop started slowly, "you can trust them more than you ever could trust the people from Homeland Security. For starters, they're not federal agents anymore. And for seconds, rare are the mortals any Elder would call 'Champions of Good'."

Piper nodded slowly. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they say anything."

Paige and Phoebe nodded their assent.

"When and where did your premonition take place, Pheebs?" Paige asked.

Phoebe closed her eyes to recapture the images she had seen.

"It's in day light. They were in a park or maybe a cemetery, sitting on a blanket and talking. They were in a secluded area, surrounded by trees, like a lovers' spot or something. Something caught their attention, put them on edge. And then they were running and ducking an energy ball. I'm pretty sure the demon who attacks them is the same one who attacked me."

Paige nodded to herself. "I'll see if I can track them. Given you've had a premonition, they're now my charges so I might be able to Sense them."

Paige made to Orb out but Piper tutted at her.

"Paige? You walked into a busy hospital, with security cameras, to talk with your poorly sister. You're gonna have to walk out too."

Paige groaned, gave her sisters and long-suffering smile, but did just that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Mulder and Scully made it back to their room at the Marriott in near enough silence. Scully could tell her other half was running through his profile in his mind. But she wasn't going to let him get away with it for much longer.

"So?"

Mulder fished in his pocket for a sunflower seed and brought it to his mouth. He expertly cracked the seed open, brought the tiny morcel out if its shell with a well-placed flick of his tongue, and spit out the shell in his hand, all the while grinning as his Scully stared at his lips.

"You won't distract me, you know?"

"Says the woman still staring at the lower-half of my face."

Scully brought her darkened, blue eyes up to look at her partner in crime and life. A small smile was playing on her lips.

"Come on, Sherlock. You know you want to."

Mulder huffed a laugh and took the woman of his life in his arms. The two brought their foreheads together.

"This is supposed to be a holiday," Mulder murmured. "No work, no paranormal anything… No darkness."

"I think it's a bit late for that, G-man. Just spit it out, I won't hold it against you."

Mulder smiled and gave Scully a small peck on the lips.

"All right, then."

He turned and powered up his laptop that sat on the desk. He called up a Powerpoint file and Scully couldn't help smiling.

"Should I call down to reception and ask if we can borrow a conference room, or one of their projectors at the very least? You never know, they might even have an old-fashioned one, with slides and everything."

"Ah, ah!" Mulder scoffed and sat on the chair in front of the desk before snaking an arm around Scully's waist and bringing her to sit sideways on his lap.

Scully happily snuggled against his chest then turned her head so she could see the computer screen. Mulder clicked to bring the first slide, a picture of three women standing together. Scully recognized Piper and Phoebe Halliwell.

"Meet Prudence 'Prue' Halliwell. You already know the other two. Around 1999, I started to get reports from the San Francisco area about various attacks, monsters beings reported, a lot of different things. Most of these cases were reportedly handled by the local P.D. and ended up as cold files. The local field office never did get involved into any of it. But you know me, that never stopped me from looking into things."

Scully scoffed and rolled her eyes. Indeed she knew. She watched as Mulder clicked through a series of crime scene pictures, all of them seeming to involve unlawful, violent deaths.

"I did some research and two constants emerged. The Halliwell family seemed to be connected to many of these reports, usually as witnesses, sometimes as victims themselves. And police inspector Andy Trudeau, and after his death his partner Darryl Morris, were more often than not the ones investigating those cases."

Scully watched the faces of the two men Mulder had brought to the screen. "They covered up for them."

Mulder leaned slightly to the side so he could see his partner's face properly.

"Are you actually considering my theory to be valid before I even explained what it is I believe was happening?"

"Shut up, Mulder."

Mulder laughed and squeezed his partner in his arms. The next series of pictures showed old black &amp; white pictures of women practicing Wicca as well as line drawings depicting various rituals and powers.

"As I said, I found those connections and then dug in their past a bit. The Halliwells come from a long line of Wicca practitioners. And before you tell me that Wicca has long been a recognized religion in the United States, those accounts I found described the ancestors of the Halliwells as having various magical powers, from telekinesis to potion making, levitation to spell casting, astral projection to prediction the future."

"Jealousy can be a powerful motivator, Mulder, and rumors and hearsays make extremely good weapons. In particular if you are talking about a long line of independent, successful women who in turn taught the same to their children."

"True, I suppose. But the name Halliwell is never the less spoken of very highly among the Wiccan circles. They have been given the title of The Charmed Ones, apparently long-prophesized good witches fighting the unending fight against the forces of Evil. Prue died in May 2001, and they found Paige Matthews, their half-sister. The left-over Charmed One title was apparently inherited by her and she took Prue's place in their little coven."

"So they're Glinda's in disguise? Here to protect us from all the Wicked Witches out there?"

"Something like that."

Mulder buried his face into his Scully's neck and breathed in deeply.

"It's not the first time they are targeted," he mumbled onto her skin.

Scully shivered and closed her eyes.

"You think that this wasn't an accident or a mugging gone wrong. Hate crime?"

"Maybe."

Mulder moved, pushing the lid of his computer down and the chair away from the desk, before sliding his left hand under Scully's shirt to settle at the small of her back. His fingers moved in slow circle, tracing her tattoo under her clothes.

"I'm not sure we really want to get involved."

"Never known you to back away from a case, Mulder."

"You said it yourself. We're not FBI anymore."

Scully sighed and shook her head.

"No, we're not," she said. "But that didn't stop us last year. And we never stopped investigating the X-Files either, even when we weren't assigned to the division. Or when the division was closed… It's just who we are."

Mulder nodded into Scully's neck, unwilling to move more than that.

"I think it was a hit," he mumbled. "And I think they know it too."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

"We are going to go out for a nice meal at a new, upmarket restaurant. And maybe we'll get to find out what those sisters are hiding. And maybe we'll get to help out."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

The Halliwell Manor was fuller that evening than it had been for a long while. The entire Halliwell family had gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss recent events.

"All right," Piper said as she watched with a smile her husband and her brothers-in-law finish the last of their respective plates. "So we have a faction of demons who may or may not know about the fact that Elder Cassandra is wanting to retire. And because the last time that happened, Ramus was sent to us for protection, they assumed – rightly so – that we would be providing protection again."

"That sounds about right," Coop said.

"And what? Those two ex-FBI agents just walked into that situation, completely unaware?"

"You know, Piper," Phoebe said, "most of our Innocents have been unaware. That usually comes as part of being innocent."

Piper threw a look to her younger sister, but she did have to concede the point.

"So, we're just going to try and protect them at the same time as Elder Cassandra. But can we guarantee that the demons will not go after them again when they get back home?"

"I don't think we can do much more than that, Piper," Leo said.

"What about that deal the Source and Elder Cassandra brokered for their safety?" Phoebe asked. "Doesn't that count anymore?"

"Those kinds of agreements generally endure past whoever is in power at the time the deal is made," Leo agreed. "But it is also usually on matters of magic. Matters that more than just a few people knew about. Given the number of upper-level demons and leaders of the Underworld you managed to vanquish over the years, it's not impossible that everyone who knew about this deal is already dead."

The Sisters cringed at the notion they might be responsible for putting two former FBI agents in danger.

"You think we should warn them, at least."

"Hey! They're retired, right?" Henry suddenly asked.

"Yes, so what?" Paige said as she turned to her husband.

"Well if they're retired, the only reason they're being targeted is because they got caught in the cross-fire when they saved Pheebs. And if everyone who knew about the deal is dead then no one knows about what they used to do either. As soon as you guys get rid of the current threat, they'll be safe again."

"I knew I married you for more than just your looks," Paige said with a quirky smile.

"I wouldn't count on that too much," a voice said.

Everyone turned to see Elder Cassandra Orbed into the room.

"Mulder and Scully are trouble magnets. It's almost as if those two enjoy waking up in hospital with various weird and unexplainable injuries."

Leo stood as Cassandra motioned for him and the others watched, a bit stunned, as the former Whitelighter stepped into the Elder's embrace.

"I always knew you were special, Leo. I'm happy to see I was right."

Leo grimaced slightly. "Did you know? What I would do? What I would become?"

"Oh, Leo. You know me better than that. Simply because I can see the future, does not mean I look into it. Fate is what one's make of it. As it should be. I Sensed potential. I nurtured it as I saw fit. Between Ramus and myself, I think many Elders thought you had gotten a rather bad deal when it came to trainers. But we both saw the warrior in you, as well as the healer. We tried to nurture both aspects. And we were right to, as usual."

Cassandra said these words loud and clear, and with a certain tone of finality. The Sisters exchanged a look. It almost sounded as if Cassandra was talking directly with the rest of the Elders just now. And maybe she had been.

"Anyhow, everything seems to be going as it should," Cassandra commented with an odd look on her face.

"What will happen to your powers? I mean last time, they were passed on to Kevin."

"Elders powers are always passed on to the next generation of Elders. An Elder may name a successor and consciously pass their power on to them when the time comes. That was the plan with Ramus. Leo was supposed to get them and become the next Elder. But Fate had other plans in mind. Ramus was in the habit of looking into the future and he saw what should happen. He made sure it did. Kevin may still be young, but he will become a great asset to the Council one day."

"And now?" Piper asked.

"I was asked to leave my powers to Leo, yes. The Council is somewhat eager to have you back."

Piper and Leo exchanged a look, and Cassandra smiled at them.

"I've never been known for following orders at all times. Besides, although I've not peaked at the timeline, I'm quite positive that this is not your destiny, Leo."

"So… What should we do about the two FBI agents?" Paige asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much. As much as trouble follows them around, Mulder and Scully are quite adept at getting out of sticky situations. And I know for a fact that several high-level demon factions still know about them, and the deal. And they know that it truly is in their best interests to keep those two alive. At least until the threat they fight has completely disappeared."

Cassandra patted Leo on the shoulder and directed him back to his seat.

"Now, are you young people ready for Tuesday night? I would love to push back the occasion, but I'm not sure when I would next have the opportunity."

"We have plans to ward off the Manor as tightly as possible," Piper said. "The children will be sent to spend the night with their grandfather. And we'll be here, waiting for those demons who will no doubt turn up."

The Elder nodded with a soft smile.

"This is good to know. Well, I suppose I will be going for now. No sense making you and I into more of a target than we need to be until the time has come."

With these words, Cassandra bowed slightly to the assembled Halliwell tribe and Orbed back out of the Manor. Silence reigned in the room for a few moments.

"I like her," Piper commented as she reached for her glass of wine. "How come we didn't have to deal with her rather than the rest of the Elders?"

Leo chuckled. "As you may have gathered yourselves, Cassandra is a bit of an odd ball. She's probably the oldest Elder still in her powers. I mean, she was there when the Greek Gods finally had their powers taken away from them."

Piper looked at her husband with a bit of a smile.

"Well I say we make a toast," Piper said as she raised her glass. "To Cassandra, the longest serving Elder of all. May she find peace on the rest of her journey."

"To Cassandra," the others echoed.

As they made to take a sip of their drinks, the phone rang and Phoebe, the nearest, stood to take care of it.

"That was Fox Mulder. They've asked if they could take Piper's offer for Monday evening. They apparently might be visiting family in San Diego over the weekend."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Mulder walked slowly alongside his Scully. She had linked her fingers with his a while back as they traversed the park. Mulder had remembered this place from the brochures he had looked at all those years ago when they had come on their case here. Sometimes, an eidetic memory really was as good as they made it sound.

Despite what he'd told the charming Phoebe Halliwell, Mulder and Scully had not spent the weekend visiting family. They'd taken the time to study the recent history of the Halliwells in more details, wanting to know as much as they could before they stepped into that pit. The results were quite impressive. Mulder had tracked down several local Wicca practitioners through friends of friends. After the two ex-Agents had confirmed they held no ill-will towards the Charmed Ones, all these witches had confirmed that the Halliwell witches were the good guys in all this. This had convinced Mulder and Scully both that they would help if they could.

It was now Monday, and their plan was to get to Halliwell's tonight, enjoy a good meal, and offer their help to the sisters. But for now, Mulder led Scully through the trees, looking for the perfect spot. The two of them had prepared a picnic – complete with the ever-present salad and sunflower seeds – snagged a blanket from the hotel, and made their way to this little bit of woodland. Mulder spotted an out-of-the-way spot surrounded by trees and he smirked at Scully as he pulled her there.

"I hope you don't think you're about to get lucky, Mulder."

"Are you saying I couldn't have my way if I were to try?"

Scully's only answer was a raised eyebrow and pursed lips, although Mulder could see the smile in her clear blue eyes. With a dramatic sigh, he hung his head then proceeded to unfold their blanket, setting it on the ground by a large oak tree before grabbing the basket Scully had been carrying to quickly set out their lunch.

It wasn't long before he was sat against the tree, his long legs spread out in front of him, and with Scully's head resting rather comfortably on his lap. He read the local paper while Scully caught up on one of her medical journals.

"Hey, listen to that, Scully. '_Trust isn't a single issue. It doesn't just happen one day. It's a constant process. You have to know when you can trust your friends with your deepest secrets. Trust that your family will be there to protect you. And trust yourself to take the risk. But that trust can't be __**blind.**_ _You have to take care to protect yourself from the unknown. To guard your heart. Until one day you realize that someone __**else**__ is guarding it along with you. Because once you find the strength in yourself, you will be ready to find your love and turn it into something __**greater. Trust.**_'"

"Sounds like good enough advice."

"That's an extract from Phoebe Halliwell's forthcoming book."

"Really?" Scully said as she lowered her journal to look at her partner.

Mulder was happily munching away on sunflower seeds as he continued reading.

"And are you guarding my heart along with me, Mulder?"

That stopped his chewing, and Mulder lowered his edition of _The Bay Mirror_ to look at the formidable woman lying there with her head in his lap. He ran his fingertips along her forehead and down her cheek, pushing back strands of her hair as he went.

"I really need to get my hair cut," Scully mumbled even as her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch.

"Don't you dare," Mulder replied in a whisper.

Her soft laughter brought an answering smile to his lips, and Mulder leaned forward for a kiss. But even as she responded, both froze as they heard the snap of a branch and the rustle of leaves nearby. Both turned their heads in the direction of the noise, looking to see whoever was there. A chill in the air and years spent looking over their shoulders had both ex-FBI agents scrambling to their feet and they drew their weapons. With the familiar weight of their Sig Sauers in their hand, the two exchanged a look and moved to stand side-by-side with their back to the oak tree.

"Do you see them?"

Scully shook her head, her eyes scanning the area. The two ex-Agents may have relaxed their guards but they knew that some people were still looking to get to them. They knew too much, and about too many things.

"I'll go take a look," Mulder muttered.

"No, you won't," Scully said as she grabbed his arm to stop him from stepping away from the tree. "We don't know what's going on. It could be whoever if after the sisters. It could also be one of Rat Boy's friends."

"Rat Boy? Are you forgetting that Krycek is long dead?" Mulder chuckled. Scully had never been all that happy about Krycek being his partner. And when he had first abused the bonds of partnership – by getting Mulder to trust him only to manipulate him – and then taken part in Melissa Scully's murder, his fate had been sealed in her eyes.

"You know what I meant."

"Mmmm… I suppose I don't want to go solo against a demon."

"It's _not_ a demon," Scully said through gritted teeth.

But when a ball of fire flew right at their heads and both had to duck out of its way, Mulder threw an I-told-you-so look at his partner even as he started dragging her away from the oak tree shielding them. The two knew better than to stop to look behind them. They darted through the branches of a weeping willow and moved to put their back to the tree trunk. Both brought their weapons to eye level, taking deep breaths even as they looked for their attacker.

"Still think we're dealing with your run-of-the-mill killer?"

"Shut up, Mulder."

Hazel eyes met sky-blues briefly. The two exchanged a small smile before returning their eyes to the surrounding area. The willow tree blocked most of their view, but with a bit of luck, it would hide them from whoever thought throwing Molotov cocktail at them was a good idea. The sound of running had them train their sights in that direction even as they shuffled around the tree trunk to put it between them and their pursuers.

"I'm telling you, they went this way."

"And I'm reminding you that we're not supposed to do this."

"They made me lose my target. I never lose!"

"We have our orders. The date is too important to Jorax. And they're not supposed to be touched."

"Jorax will get Elder Cassandra's powers. But I want my due. I'm his best assassin, and they made me lose my mark. The witch should be dead. And she would have been if they hadn't interfered."

The two men carried on forward, not bothering to check the area. Scully sidled around the tree to watch the men run past. When they left her sight, she turned back to Mulder.

"Should we assume that 'the target' was Phoebe Halliwell? And that this Jorax ordered the hit. Jorax wants something from that Cassandra. And his assassin is now after us for messing up his work?"

"I think those are rather safe assumptions," Mulder muttered as he leaned around the tree himself.

Both jumped back as another flash of fire came their way.

"No mortal will stop me from my work."

Several more flashes came their way and Scully returned fire, shooting twice in direction of the man. Nevermind the paperwork, she wasn't going down without a fight. Not after surviving that black-lunged bastard. She heard Mulder return fire then curse colorfully as he dodged back behind the tree, holding his gun arm.

"Jesus," Scully muttered as she saw blood trickling down his burned sleeve.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Paige Matthews was the first half-Whitelighter being to have been born. It wasn't something she had always embraced, but it had become part of her over the years. Nowadays, she dealt almost exclusively with witches as her charges. The Charmed Ones might still be a force of good, but they hadn't been assigned Innocents to protect for a while. Demons and all sorts of evil usually came looking for them. The prospect of protecting two Innocent ex-FBI agents was a change. She wasn't sure yet if it was a good one.

So when she got the call, she Orbed ready to defend two mortals. What she wasn't expecting was to step into a scene from an old Wild West movie. Mulder and Scully were huddled behind a tree. But far from cowering in fright, the two had guns in their hands and were alternatively firing at a fireball-throwing demon that stood opposite them. Mulder had gotten hit, judging by the singed sleeve of his top. She saw the demon get ready to attack again.

"Fireball!"

Even as Mulder and Scully jumped at hearing her call, Paige Orbed the fireball out of the demon's hand and into her own. She threw it at the demon who dodged easily enough.

"Come on."

To their credit, the two didn't hesitate for longer than a millisecond. As soon as they were within reach, Paige took their hands and Orbed back to the Manor.

"Ward us off!" Paige shouted as her feet touched the floor.

Piper and Phoebe lost no time and placed the last crystals needed by the windows, completing the circle. It was quite unusual for them to ward themselves in. They would often use the crystals on demons to harmlessly trap them in the Manor. Leo and Henri moved to get to the injured Mulder as he stumbled but Scully had already stepped to support him. And she now pointed her gun at them, a hard look in her eyes.

"We're here to help," Leo said at his most non-threatening, channeling years spent as a Whitelighter.

Scully's aim never wavered until Mulder leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Paige watched as the other redhead licked her lips, her eyes still trained on Leo and Henri, before she dropped her arm and holstered her weapon.

"We tend to get jittery about sudden attacks by demons," Mulder said by way of explanation.

Scully elbowed him in the gut and he huffed rather dramatically before he put away his own weapon. He winced as he moved his arm and Scully immediately turned to him.

"You're getting slow in your old age."

"Very funny, love. Mind helping me out?"

"Actually, I might be able to help," Paige finally said.

The Charmed One slowly held her hands up. She'd been around more than one skittish witch armed with a vanquishing potion. She gently laid her hands on Mulder's arm and concentrated to Heal him.

"Well, that's got to come in real handy in your line of work," Mulder huffed.

Beside him, Scully gaped openly and Phoebe took it as her cue to approach.

"It's fine, Agent Scully. There won't even be a scar."

Both Mulder and Scully seemed startled at her words and exchanged a look before turning back to them. Where they'd worn smiling, if worried, faces when the sisters first met them the previous week, their attitude was now downright frosty. And no one needed Phoebe's Empathy to know she'd just made a mistake.

"All right, everyone back off. We all know it's far from easy to be confronted with magic even when you already believed. Paige, get back to the Elders. Tell them Mulder and Scully were attacked, and raise enough hell that they send someone to the Underworld. They're supposed to be off-limits to both our sides. Also, see if they know where Cassandra is right now. She ought to be told we have some guests and someone knows what's happening tomorrow."

Piper stopped as she saw the two ex-Agents exchange another look. A barely-heard sigh, a minute shake of a head, and Scully straightened.

"You should know what we heard," and her voice was still frosty, but Piper understood why Cassandra had named them Champions of Good. Not everyone would volunteer information to strangers they didn't trust.

Scully went to carry on, but Mulder stopped her with a hand on her forearm. Her eyes darted to his before she sighed and turned away from them while stepping closer to her partner.

"The man who attacked us," Mulder said, "spoke of a Jorax. He's apparently the one who ordered the hit on you three and he's after Cassandra's powers. I guess you know Cassandra. The name Jorax means anything?"

Piper frowned.

"Paige? Book. Down. Now."

The youngest Charmed One held her hands out.

"Book of Shadows!" She caught the Book as it Orbed to her and put it down on a nearby table.

Piper stepped to the Book and opened it at a random page.

"We need Jorax. Quickly."

The Book of Shadows flipped pages until it came to the right one.

"Jorax. A high level demon who once was one of the Source's commanders."

"And here we thought we were done with the Source," Paige muttered as she came to stand beside her sister.

"Jorax was unhappy with Belthazor joining. He requested the Source to release him from active service. Amazingly enough, the Source agreed on the condition Jorax would rejoin when the Source requested it."

"And it never did? Well, that's kind of dumb," Phoebe commented.

"It's also kind of lucky for us," Piper continued. "It says here Jorax is not just another high-level demon. He's been around for longer than the Source was, amassing powers over the course of close to five centuries. But he never made a bid for the leadership. He wanted power but without the responsibility. But that doesn't really help with our most immediate problem. Paige?"

"Checking with the Elders," the Whitelighter-Charmed One said before she Orbed out.

Piper turned to her two guests to find them looking at one another again.

"Okay, you two," Piper smile a little at the two ex-federal agents, "that's actually kind of creepy. And that's coming from a witch. Stop reading each other's minds. And by the way, why aren't you freaking out more?"

"We've seen a lot worse over the years," was Mulder's reply. "And sorry, we just weren't expecting you to know about us."

"Ah! Things like that usually work both ways. We were told you probably had a good idea who we were. And we were told who you are. Looks like we're on the same side, although we fight different wars. Now, Phoebe, get everyone together. We're going to the restaurant for dinner. And you two are coming along. We have a lot to talk about."

Piper shooed everyone towards the door even as she grabbed the phone to call a cab.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

* * *

Scully stood against a wall in the Halliwell Manor living room. For years, she had carefully defended her scientific views to Mulder. Even with everything she had seen, she had never completely accepted most of what they had investigated during their time in the X-Files. And now, in the space of only a week, she'd had to accept that magic did exist. She could not argue against what she had seen. Luckily, it looked like the good guys had powerful agents in the Charmed Ones and their families.

It was quite disturbing to learn that you had been protected by and from magic since near enough the beginning of your career. It was also a bit reassuring, considering what they were about to do. Scully watched as Mulder spoke quietly with Leo, Henri, and Coop. He seemed to have struck a particular friendship with them, bonding over dinner last night. They had exchanged sports talks, and they'd become instant friends. Even when they seemed to support different teams. She knew it was his way to both calm his nerves and make nice with potential contacts. Not everyone could brag to know an ex-angel, a love expert, and a parole officer.

A little coo sounded at the vicinity of her feet and Scully looked down to see little Prudence smiling at her, and holding her arms towards her. With a little smile, Scully picked the child up and Prue immediately grabbed hold of a lock of her hair, babbling as she went. Scully leaned back against the wall, settling the child's weight onto her hip. She caught Mulder looking at her and smiled to reassure him.

So much had happened, and so much more was going to tonight. Mulder and Scully had spent last night at _Halliwell's_, exchanging stories with the witches about past demonic fights and past cases. And now, the equivalent of an archangel would turn up within the next hour or so to give up her powers in order to move on. And a demon wanted those powers for himself and had attacked the Charmed Ones because they had been asked to protect Elder Cassandra while the power exchange was taking place.

Prue's babbles brought Scully's mind back from its wanderings and she smiled at the little, dark-haired angel in her arms. Well, dark-haired half-Cupid, half-witch. At least, Mulder had kept his I-told-you-so looks to a minimum. Prue played with the long strand of light auburn hair, moving it around in the light coming from the chandelier.

"I'm sorry. I think she likes the color of your hair," Phoebe said as she entered the room, getting a playpen out and setting it in one corner, away from the windows.

"That's all right," Scully answered, carefully settling Prue into the readied playpen. "My nephew used to do the same. I suppose longish, red hair isn't common."

Scully handed a toy to the little girl who gleefully took it off her. The grandfather clock chimed eight, and the men stopped talking.

"All right, people," Piper called as she entered the room. "Let's get this done quickly. And if we're lucky, we'll save the furniture from being blown up this time. Coop, please take the children out. Paige, if you could…"

The youngest Charmed One remote-Orbed a crystal to her, effectively bringing down the protection on the Manor, even as the Cupid Beamed out with all the children. Within seconds, Elder Cassandra Orbed in.

"Leo, I want you to know it has been my pleasure to teach you and watch you becoming the powerful warrior you are now. And thank you to everyone here for trying to make su…"

Cassandra was cut off by a fireball flying at her head. Piper reacted just in time to blow it up before it got too near. Scully had her weapon out and she shot the demon before he could prepare another, surprising him long enough for Piper to blow him up.

Mulder and the other men fell back around Cassandra and Coop Beamed in their midst. Mulder threw a look at Scully as he thumbed the safety off his gun, and she couldn't help but smile back at him. She supposed it had been a while, but Mulder seemed quite happy to help out on this one.

Three more men appeared into the living room. _Demons_, Scully thought to herself. _And they Shimmer._ _That's the term for it._ She sighted them but didn't fire, watching as the sisters threw vials at the men and they burst into flames. Mulder and she were back up. A last line of defense in case things went wrong. It wasn't really their fight, after all. They dealt with mutants and aliens. But they'd help if it became necessary because as Cassandra had said, they were Champions of Good. And although they were supposedly untouchable, they knew that Jorax's assassin would more likely be happy to take a shot at them if he could.

Scully risked a glance at Cassandra. The woman seemed perfectly calm, standing there and watching the demons sent to kill her. For a moment, Scully was reminded of another Cassandra she once knew. A woman who believed in extra-terrestrials, who thought they were here to help, who was ultimately manipulated by her own husband, a pawn in his power play to survive the end of the world. She'd been so unbelievingly calm about it all. Until she'd learned the truth at least.

More demons Shimmered in and Scully shifted her stance. She counted six of them, but she knew there were more of them. She'd heard footsteps in the hall and Mulder's weapon was trained that way, covering their backs. Leo took a step forward and away from Cassandra, throwing vials of potions at the demons, causing them to burst into fire.

Scully returned her gaze to the fight in front of her. She watched as Piper blew up a demon and Paige redirected an energy ball at another. Phoebe roundhouse-kicked a third before stabbing him with an athame. But as the sisters turned to their next foes they were blasted backwards even as the next wave of attacker Shimmered in. Piper slid to a stop at Scully's feet and the doctor stepped forward to help, even as she recognized Jorax's assassin. As he and his cronies called up fire and energy balls to throw at the sisters, both Mulder and Scully fired at the demons.

And Scully learned there was quite a difference between being told that her gun would be as effective as it usually was, and seeing the demons shrugging off their bullets. Jorax's assassin turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing at he identified his first attacker. He turned his attention to Mulder who stepped in front of Cassandra, weapon leveled at the intruders.

"I'm not missing this time!" the demon grunted, calling up two fireballs.

"Xaphan! You heard Jorax. They are not to be touched."

But the demonic assassin ignored his colleague and released his power. Scully was moving before the fire ball even left his hand, hoping to draw his fire away from Piper who was still struggling to get back to her feet. She dodged the attack and looked up to see Xaphan aiming his next attack at Mulder. Cassandra stepped around and in front of Mulder, taking the hit for him and sending the both of them crashing backward against the stairs.

Scully felt the shock in her system as she watched her Mulder slide to a stop at the bottom of the last step. Her finger reflexively squeezed the trigger repeatedly and she turned back to watch Xaphan jerk back with each shot. But it was still largely ineffective as he turned to face her. Scully didn't stop firing until she had emptied her clip.

"I don't miss!" The demon smirked at her.

"Neither do I," an unfamiliar voice said.

Another Demon appeared behind Xaphan and stabbed him. Xaphan screamed as he vanished in a burst of flames.

"My apologies, Miss Scully. I had given specific orders that you and Mister Mulder were to be left alone, whether you decided to stand with the Charmed Ones or not."

"Jorax! Hi!" Piper waved her hands and blew the demon's shoulder off.

But he only smirked and waved his hand back at her, sending her flying into a wall.

"I'm sorry, Miss Halliwell. But I'm afraid you require the Power of Three to vanquish me. And I made sure no one ever came up with either that spell or potion. Although I suspect you might now."

But Jorax now turned his attention to Cassandra and Scully slowly reached for a spare clip at her hip, trying not to attract too much attention. Mulder grunted as he struggled to a crouched position, keeping himself between the fallen Cassandra and the demon who was after her powers. But the Elder was holding his hand, preventing him from standing to protect her.

"I'm afraid, Jorax, that neither you nor the Council of elders are going to be very happy with me."

"Why is that, old friend?" The demon smiled, and that almost stopped Scully.

It was almost tender, truly like an old friend was speaking with another.

"One cannot stop destiny," Cassandra sighed.

The Elder smiled and her body suddenly dissolved into brilliant orbs of light. They shimmered in place of her body for an instant before they split, first going to Mulder and dissipating within his body then doing the same with her. The Charmed Ones gaped at them and Scully was pretty sure that her face reflected her own confusion.

The booming sound of laughter made pretty much everyone jump and turn to Jorax.

"Always the unpredictable one, Cassandra," the demon huffed. "Destiny, indeed. I shall be looking out for you all. I suspect we will meet again, eventually."

Jorax looked pointedly at Mulder and Scully then Shimmered out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

Piper Halliwell was not one to be surprised easily. She had seen too many things in her life, especially since coming into her powers. But a demon friendly with an Elder? And two mortals ending up splitting the powers of an Elder between them?

"Would someone please explain to us what has just happened?"

Piper looked around at everyone there. Mulder and Scully looked just as shocked as the rest of them. The Charmed One threw her hands in the air and gestured for her sisters to join her.

"Come on, you two. I want answers and when it comes to destinies, there's only one person to ask."

Piper, Phoebe and Paige joined hands and took a deep breath in unison.

_"__Power of Three, _

_We summon thee, _

_And call to us, _

_The Angel of Destiny."_

The sisters were not that surprised to see a familiar black woman in bluish-white robes sparkle into view.

The Angel of Destiny smiled at them and bowed her head slightly.

"Hello again, Charmed Ones. I assume you have a question."

"Actually, I think they might have," Piper said as she pointed at the two silent figures that now stood together.

The Angel of Destiny hummed softly.

"Cassandra was always a wise one. She fought for good, but restrained from peeking into the future more than she needed to. She preferred to let Destiny find its way as well it could. A wise choice, considering. We had heard that the council wanted Leo back. The Fates had other ideas. And Cassandra chose once more to let things happen as they must, rather than as the Powers That Be would prefer."

"Mind explaining a bit more?" Mulder said with a bit of a wince. "Because right now, we have no idea what the hell just happened."

"Demons have long tried to steal the powers of an Elder," the Angel started. "Whoever inherits the powers of an Elder, becomes an Elder. If a demon managed to steal those powers, as well as becoming more powerful, they would gain access to the Heavens and might even become part of the Council of Elders. The consequences for the Forces of Good would be disastrous."

"That doesn't really explain what happened here," Mulder mumbled and Piper scoffed at him with a small smile.

"Welcome to our world! Getting a straight answer from those people is not the easiest thing ever."

Mulder and Scully seemed to relax a bit with her words, and Piper let her smile grow a bit.

"Elders have made it a ritual to choose a successor for their powers rather than leave it to Fate or Chance. It must take place during an Equinox and on the mortal plane. Leo was nominated twice now to receive powers. Ramus looked far into the timeline once upon a timeline, and knew that whoever he chose would never receive his powers. That they would in fact be passed to his true successor. Cassandra, on the other hand, made it a point not to peek because she preferred to trust in Fate. But she did have her favorites."

"So we're Elders now?" Mulder asked with a small frown.

"Yes, although I suspect that like Cassandra before you, you will not bend to the wills of the Council. After all, you do have your own battles to fight that have very little to do with demons and warlocks. Unlike most, your rather unusual situation has seen you gifted with instinctive knowledge of your capabilities. Although, maybe some training with an ex-Elder and a part-Whitelighter might be a good idea." The Angel of Destiny bowed slightly to all the assembled. "Blessed be, Champions of Good."

And she disappeared back to the higher realms.

"Well, we now know two things," Paige said with a shrug. "You guys are Elders and there's something special about you other than the work you used to do."

"How do you work that out?" Phoebe asked.

"Simple. She talked about their fight. And then said something about their unusual situation…"

"Makes sense," Piper commented. "Now, everyone, kitchen. I'm sure Mulder and Scully have plenty of questions."

"Just a few actually," Mulder said as he followed Piper, leading his partner into the other room. "What is it we can do? What's expected of us? And what's special about us?"

Piper looked to Paige and Leo before she started rooting around the kitchen to prepare a light snack for everyone. The former Elder nodded slightly and he stepped forward but Coop suddenly choked out an exclamation.

"What's the matter?" Phoebe asked of her husband.

"I know what makes you guys special. You're soul mates."

"Soul mates?" Scully and Mulder echoed.

"Just like Piper and Leo, just like Paige and Henry, just like Phoebe and I, you two were destined to meet, and fall in love, and spent the rest of your lives together."

Silence stretched for a few seconds following Coop's words before Scully shrugged.

"We already kind of knew that," she said as Mulder smirked at her. "That's the only way I could have put up with him and all those damn sunflower seeds all these years."

Mulder's smirk turned into a pout, and Scully smiled innocently back at him.

"Sharing souls might explain why Cassandra's powers split between the two of you. It would have been magically impossible to make one of you an Elder without the other following. It would definitely have an effect on your new powers, although what that is will have to be found out through experience as I have never heard of something similar happening before.

"As for what your new powers are, Cassandra was one of the most powerful Elders still around. I'm not even sure about all the powers she'll have left you. But like all Elders and Whitelighters, you'll now be able to Orb yourselves and others around, move objects through Telekinetic Orbing, and Heal. I know that Cassandra had powerful Force Field Shield and Premonition powers, although she rarely used the latter. And her Sensing abilities were second to none."

"Sensing?" Scully spoke for the first time.

"The ability to locate charges and loved ones. And given you are now Elders, you will no doubt be assigned Whitelighters and witches to watch over. Then there's spell casting and potion making. I remember Cassandra brewing a few potions in her time…"

Piper frowned and shushed her husband with a finger across her lips as she watched the older couple standing across her kitchen. They had turned to give each other another one of their looks after Leo had explained what Sensing was. And although she didn't know much about them, the older of the living Charmed Ones was now pretty certain that Mulder and Scully would not be joining the Council of the Elders in the near future.

"Anyhow, who's hungry?"

Piper served up the fruit salad, chips and dips, and the assortment of mini sandwiches she'd been preparing as the others spoke. Everyone filed back into the dining room, and the next two hours were filled by introducing the two newly elevated Elders to the world of magic.

As the clock struck midnight, Mulder and Scully decided to take their leave.

"Make sure you're not strangers," Phoebe said as she gave the new Elders a hug in turn.

"Don't ever hesitate to come if you need help with something. Whether it has to do with your kind of threat, or ours," Piper admonished, feeling somewhat strange for doing so to two people over ten years older than she was.

"And if you need a few pointers with your powers, I'll be happy to answer questions if I can," Paige smiled as she gave the two her own hug.

"Actually, Paige, mind taking us back to our hotel so we can get the feel of that Orbing thing?" Mulder asked with a grin.

"Hey, no problem!"

Piper watched her sister Orb out with the newly magical Mulder and Scully, and somehow, she had a feeling everything would be just fine.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.

Scully stood by a tall oak tree, its leaves casting a nice patch of cool shade on her to protect her from the summer sun. She breathed in the fragrances of the wild flowers growing in the nearby park and delighted in the sounds of children playing, both in said park and in the school playground across the street.

The last few weeks had been spent in a bit of a haze as Mulder and Scully went about settling their affairs. Scully had resigned from her job, sold her car, and the money raised by these actions had been invested in their house, bringing in a team of builders to finish the few jobs Mulder had not found the time or inclination to deal with. If she was honest, Scully had mixed feelings about quitting medicine. With her new Healing powers, she felt she would have been able to help a lot of people. But there was the whole personal gain thing, and also the fact that they were renegades.

The Council of Elders had been rather quick to request their presence. And neither Mulder nor Scully had taken too kindly to being Orbed to the Heavens after they had ignored the call a few times. The two had felt rather like they once had, standing up to Skinner. They knew those people meant well. They just didn't have all the information, and they only saw part of the picture. To be fair, this was probably true for the partners too. But they had already started to remedy that problem. With a bit of help from the Charmed Ones, they had managed to summon a low-level demon to request that he finds Jorax and ask him to meet with them.

The demon had agreed to meet on top of the Empire State Building, of all places. And Mulder and Scully had since formed a somewhat strange, working relationship with him based on avoidance. The partners tried to stay out of the demon's business, and he returned the favor. In exchange, he had given them a bit of a crash course in demonic history and agreed to answer their questions in the future as long as it didn't interfere with his plans. They both found it rather strange to deal with a demon who appeared more honorable than the black-lunged, human bastard who had worked for the Consortium had ever seemed to them.

Scully Sensed Mulder before the first orbs of light even appeared behind her, and she smiled as he Orbed right behind her, putting his arms around her waist and nuzzling into her neck. She let herself lean back into his embrace and closed her eyes.

"You saw him?"

"Yes. He's playing with some of his friends. Looks like love of basketball is genetic after all."

Scully felt his smile against her skin and she couldn't stop an answering to appear on her lips. She felt him shift and settle his chin on the top of her head, a move made easier for him since she was wearing flat shoes today. She opened her eyes once more and watched the boys playing an enthusiastic game of basketball across the street. She spotted again him easily enough. He was tall for his age, and lanky. Just like his dad. His hair was a dark shade of red and flopped against his forehead as he ran, dribbling along from one side of the court to the other, passing and shouting and laughing as he went along. She just hoped he had inherited his father's tanned skin too. She couldn't tell from their spot.

"As long as he has your nose," Mulder commented.

"I didn't think telepathy was part of our power set," Scully said with a chuckle.

"I don't need telepathy to know what you're thinking, my love."

Mulder release his partner from his arm just long enough to spin her around before he planted a small kiss on the crown of her head.

"Come on. We said we'd try to visit Skinner to let him know a bit about what's been going on."

"Think he'll believe us?"

"With you actually backing my story? No doubt about it."

Scully laughed softly before she stood on her tip toes to kiss the man in her life. The man who would stay in her life for the rest of eternity if she had any say in the matter.

"Come on, G-man. I fancy a non-fat, Tofutti rice dreamsicle."

And Mulder laughed as he Orbed them away.

* * *

Across the street, Will Van der Kamp shot a last hoop, winning the game for his team. He exchanged high-fives with his friends even as his adopted mother looked on.

"Come on, Will. I still have to prepare dinner."

Similar calls echoed from the rest of the mothers and everyone split up. But Will hanged back for a moment, watching a small, redhead woman and a tall, brown-haired man standing in each other's arms by the oak tree across the street. And he smiled as he felt the love his birth parents had for him and for each other. Then they disappeared in a burst of shimmering light. He'd see them again soon enough, he supposed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And there you have it. Done. Chris, Constance, you can get your characters back now.

When I thought up this story, that last scene was actually what came to my head. Mulder and Scully using their newly-found powers to check up on Will, making sure that their son was happy before leaving him to live his life, never knowing that he knew exactly who they were... The thing stuck in my head and I just had to write a story to go with it, if only to stop it from interfere with the rest of my writing work.

Hope you've like it. Feel free to review and let me know!


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